Girl, 6, rescued from drug gang in Vietnam

About 100 officers were involved in the rescue of a 6-year-old girl held for ransom by heroin smugglers in Vietnam, officials said Wednesday. Police used tear gas to enter a hotel in Hoa Binh province Tuesday, arresting two men and a woman who were holding the girl and later arrested five others involved in the kidnapping, Bikyamasr.com reported. The girl was kidnapped at gunpoint from her home Saturday, Ministry of Public Security senior official Ho Duc Tien said. The gang then called the girl's father, Song A De, to demand a $25,000 ransom and 3.7 pounds of heroin. The gang had asked the child's father to deliver money to someone, police said. She was kidnapped after her father failed to deliver the money then refused to return it. A government official told Bikyamasr.com in a telephone interview Vietnam leaders would "look at how to bolster police and crack down on these violent crimes" during a ministerial meeting soon.